Vegetarian's Japan Guide

Nagahamajō – The Castle that Leads to Hideyoshi’s Success

Nagahama Castle (長浜城) at the northeastern lakeshore of Lake Biwa is known as Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s starting point for becoming the leader of Japan. Even if you aren’t interested in Japanese history and the Japanese castle, you might still want to visit the castle park in spring. Usually, from early to mid-April, the cherry trees blossom beautifully around the castle, making the park one of Japan’s Top 100 Cherry Blossom Spots!

A List of Contents

Tip: If you understand Japanese, volunteer guides are available on weekends and public holidays. If you wish to be guided on a weekday, please contact the museum by the 22nd of the previous month. The museum’s email address is [email protected].

A Brief History of Nagahama Castle

In 1573, Kinoshita Tōkichirō (木下藤吉郎) defeated Azai Nagamasa (浅井 長政), the third and last lord of the Azai clan. Tōkichirō, from a peasant background, subsequently became a feudal lord and was given the majority of the Azai clan’s territory to govern. Moreover, his name was changed to Hashiba Hideyoshi (羽柴秀吉).

As Imahama (currently Nagahama) is a transportation hub, instead of reconstructing the Odani Castle (小谷城) that he surrendered, a new castle was completed in 1575.

Feeling thankful towards his prominent lord, Oda Nobunaga, the new castle was named Nagahama instead of Imahama, with the “Naga” from “Nobunaga”.

Ⓒ びわこビジターズビューロー

For 10 years as the lord of Nagahama Castle, Hideyoshi set out attacks towards the Hokuriku (北陸) and Chūgoku (中国) regions for Oda Nobunaga.

After the Honnō-ji Incident (本能寺の変), the territory around Nagahama Castle was re-zoned to be under Shibata Katsuie (柴田勝家). Katsuie’s nephew Katsutoyo (勝豊) became the lord of Nagahama Castle.

In 1583, the battle between Hideyoshi and Katsuie occurred at Mt. Shizugatake (賤ヶ岳) in Nagahama‘s north. The battle is known as the Battle of Shizugatake (賤ヶ岳の戦い), where Katsuie lost both the battle and his life.

Since then, the castle was the base of a few more feudal clans before becoming a part of the Hikone Domain (彦根藩). After the Toyotomi clan was destroyed, Nagahama Castle was dismantled with many building materials used to construct Hikone Castle (彦根城). A few gates of the castle were also relocated to the temples in Nagahama during this process.

Nagahama Castle’s Location

Ⓒ 公益社団法人長浜観光協会

Nagahama Castle, built on Lake Biwa’s lakeshore, is a fortress surrounded by water. Knowing there is little risk of flooding, Hideyoshi built the castle here, so it would be hard to attack.

The main quarter of the castle, Honmaru (本丸), was located closest to the lake. It is protected by the second quarter, Ninomaru (二の丸), in the south, and the third quarter, Sannomaru (三の丸), in the north, as his vassals’ residence.

In the case where both the second and the third quarter were taken down, Hideyoshi could still escape from the watergate of the castle leading to Lake Biwa.

From this structure, it isn’t hard to tell that Hideyoshi had a talent for being a feudal lord.

Nagahama Castle Nowadays

Unfortunately, what the castle looks like now might resemble little of the castle built by Hideyoshi. The amount of documentation on the castle is just not enough to paint a clear picture of what sort of castle Nagahama Castle was.

In modern times, Nagahama Castle Ruins were maintained as Hō Park (豊公園). The current Nagahama Castle was constructed with donations from the general public in 1983 and opened as a historical museum. The castle was built with other castles built by Hideyoshi in the region as models (such as Inuyama Castle (犬山城) and Fushimi Castle (伏見城)).

If you visit the castle/museum in spring, the scenery of cherry blossoms will amaze you. The scenery is so gorgeous that it was chosen to be one of Japan’s Top 100 Cherry Blossom Spots!

The castle’s top-floor observatory will give you a panoramic view of Japan’s biggest lake, Lake Biwa (but it can be windy and cold). If you don’t want to climb up, take the elevator inside the museum.

Ⓒ びわこビジターズビューロー

Inside Nagahama Castle Historical Museum

The exhibition floors of the museum are divided into a couple of areas.

There is an area where the history of the castle’s construction is demonstrated through dioramas. At the time, wood was logged and transported from the sacred Chikubu Island (竹生島) in Lake Biwa.

Ⓒ photo-ac.com

Another exhibit worth checking out is the folding screen from the Edo period. It has a painting of the Battle of Shizugatake painted on it. At the top is Hideyoshi’s force crashing fiercely with Katsuie’s force at the right.

Inside the museum, you will also find statues of the famous warriors in the Sengoku period (1467 – 1615), such as Ishida Mitsunari (石田三成) and Katō Kiyomasa (加藤清正). Most of the statues were made in the late Edo period.

Tip: On Sundays and public holidays in April, May, October, and November, the traditional tea room on the 4th floor is open.

Important: Please bear in mind that the exhibits in the museum don’t have an English explanation underneath Japanese. A simple pamphlet, however, will be provided upon request.

Ⓒ 滋賀県

Nagahama Castle Historical Museum’s Opening Hours, Admission Fee, and Access Information

  • Nagahama Castle Historical Museum is open from 9 am to 5 pm.
    • The last admission is at 4:30 pm.
    • It is closed from the end of December to the beginning of January.
  • The admission fee is
    • 410 yen for adults
    • 200 yen for elementary and junior high school students
  • From JR Nagahama Station (長浜駅), it is less than a 10-minute walk.
  • You can park your car at Hō Park’s car park for up to 3 hours for free.

Discover Other Exciting Attractions in Nagahama City

Nagahama, the second biggest city in Shiga Prefecture, is rich in history and nature. Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s success in becoming the leader of Japan in the second half of the 16th century is said to have started from here.

Apart from the cultural and historical attractions, the city will also excite shopaholics and figurine manias!

For more information, please refer to our article on Nagahama (=゚ω゚)ノ.

Keisoku-ji-Approach-Nagahama-Shiga-Japan
Click the photo to find out where else you might be interested in visiting when you come to Nagahama!

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